Record labels join bid to freeze Dotcom assets

Recording companies have followed the movie studios' lead
and are also seeking freezing orders over Kim Dotcom's assets.

Major movie studios and records labels are both suing Dotcom
and his associates.

20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Columbia
Pictures and Warner Bros claim Dotcom-founded Megaupload and
its key operators "facilitated, encouraged, and profited from
massive copyright infringement of movies and television
shows"before it was shut down in 2012.

The studios claim the defendants generated more than US$175
million in illicit profits and cost US copyright owners more
than half a billion dollars.

The movie studios are seeking profits and damages from the
defendants.

Four major US record labels - Warner Music Group, UMG
Recordings, Sony Music Entertainment and Capital Records -
are also suing Dotcom and his associates in an almost
identical suit.

The movie studios are now seeking freezing orders against
Dotcom in the High Court, it was reported last week.

During a brief hearing in the High Court at Auckland this
morning it was revealed that the recording companies are also
seeking to freeze Dotcom assets.

The defendants were yesterday served with papers in the
recording companies case, the court heard.

A lawyer representing the recording companies, Mark Gavin,
indicated his clients' freezing application should be heard
at the same time as the one brought by the movie studios.

Movie studios' lawyer Matt Sumpter told Justice John Fogarty
there was some urgency needed with the freezing application
as existing foreign restraining orders over Dotcom's assets
could expire depending on a Court of Appeal hearing at the
end of July.

Sumpter said he would like the freezing order application to
happen before then. This application could take up to three
days.

While Sumpter wanted timetabling orders for the freezing
application issued this morning, Justice Fogarty adjourned
the matter until next Monday so it could be called at the
same time as the recording companies case.